Roof supports for mines



`lune `1, 1965 A, D, ALLEN 3,186,178

ROOF SUPPORTS FOR MINES Filed July 51. 1961 5 sheets-sheet 1 C 2,5l i 2324- /4b` I Y /21' 27. E

29 0,43 ,/5 kil e //4 H /9 f/20 /46' 1 /40 l 7 20, 2@ wvl-:mon: k f2 JFCHHWwALLF/v June l, 1965 A. D. ALLEN ROOF SUPPORTS FOR MINES 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 51, 1961 INVE NTORZ cwm//fs u. EA/

June 1, 1965 A. D. ALLEN 3,186,178

ROOF SUPPORTS FOR MINES Filed July 51, 1961 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 /3 fp() G/ lNVENTOR June 1, 1965 A. D. ALLEN 3,186,178

RooF SUPPORTS vFOR MINES Filed July 51, 1961 5 sheets-sheet 4 VENTOR:

June 1, 1965 A. D. ALLEN 3,1\86,178

ROOF SUPPORTS FOR MINES INVENTOR. ARcHELAlus D. ALLEN ATTORNEYS l BY This invention is for improvements in or relating to roof supports for mines and the like. One object of the present invention is to provide-a selfadvancing or walking roof support whichr is of sucha construction Athat a relatively simple and inexpensiveV form of ram-means effects advancement or Walking of the support and also pushing over .of the conveyor or manoeuvring of other machinery. n I p p According to the present invention there is provided a mine roof support comprising two roof supporting members movable with respect to one another in side-by-side relationship and operativelyvconnected together by pressure fiuid ram means adapted, when one". support member is released and the otheris held fixed between floor and roof, to effect such side-by-side movement in turn-of the supporting members with respect to one another, said Y pressure fluid ram means including a cylinder attached to one of said members and^ opposed pistons coupledY to, or engaging respectively, oppositeends of the otherjof said members.

In one embodiment of the invention the'roof supporting Y member to which the opposed pistons are connected is n relatively long4 as compared with the Vother roof support- UniteddStatS Patent N l ment-to takeplace between the :support 11 and the ram cylinder."

The pistonrod'19 of therpiston 1'5 is coupled, as indil cated at'20, to a bracket 21 attached to the rear end ofthe.Y

base`12 of the support 10. The coupling 2i) is also of ar 1 flexible nature and is ,designed to provide for vertical float orrmovement between the piston rod 19 Iandthe bracket The outer end of ythepistonrod Z2 of the piston `16 passesthrough a vertical slotk 23 in abracket orlug 24 v attached to the forward end of the base 12 `of the support AV10, the piston rod beyond said bracket being formed with an enlarged head 25. Hereagain the arrangement pro-v Y vides for a degree of'vertical float to take place between,

the piston Vrod 22 and the bracket 24.

Ports "25 and 27 are provided in the cylinder 14: for" the supply and discharge of pressure fluid for the operation of the ram-means and for a similar purpose a port 28 is provided in the piston rod 19 which is oftubular,

form to provide a passageway between the port 28 and the space 29 between the two pistons. Y'

7 over thev conveyor the following procedure is adopted:

' port member 11 is advanced upto the conveyora's shown ing member to which the ram cylinder is connected. `Both V these 'members or parts may comprise a base l011 which is mounted one or more hydraulically extensible props, the

One particular embodimentof the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein: i

" Firstly the props "1.3 of ,the Vsupport member 11 are i Y lowered soas to release said support member from be- 30 tween the floor and roof. Pressure fluid is then supplied to the port 27 of the ram-means and as a result the supin FIGURE 3; The hydraulieprops 13 of the .support member 11 are then extended againfso as to secure said support member between oor and roof.

; Pressurefiuid'is then supplied through the port 2S so i that the piston 16 is thrust forwardly and thereby moves over the conveyor to the position shown in FIGURE 4.

Finally, the .hydraulicl props'13 of the supportmernber 10 are lowered and then pressure ud `is supplied to the p port 26. .This'caus'esnthe `ram 15 to draw theprop member 10 forwardly into the position shown in FIGURE 5.

FIGURE 1l is a plan view 'of the roof support or chock,

theactual ramhrneans being shownin section,v 3

FIGURES 2, 3, 4 and 5 show the sequence'in which the it and also push over the coal conveyor, Y

FIGURE 6 is a planview of a modification of the chock shown in FIGURE 1, and V i i Y prop or chock shown in FIGURE l. is operated to advance FIGURE y7 is an elevation partly in section of the support shown in FIGURE 1., ,p

Referring first `to FIGS. vl and`7, the chock comprises two roof supportingzmembers 10 and llrespectively in,

side-by-side relationship. l v Each of said members has a or the like, may be positioned` on the upper `ends of the The props 13 of the support member 12 are then extended coal face. f

FIGURE 6 shows how two supports, similar to that just .A described, can.v be arranged to work together in parallel n relationship, two separate support members llbeing asf sociated with and located on either side of a singlesupport member 10.` In general the construction of the chock or v Vdesignate like parts.

props 13 in the usual way.Y It will be notedrthat the base 0f hUSUPPOrL 10 is about twice the length ofthe base ofjV the support 11. n Y i.

The ram-means forffwalking orf-advancing the chock towards *the coal faceand also'for pushing'overthe cons ve'yorvC `comprises a cylinder 14 and opposed pistons,- or

rarns proper 1S and'16. VThe cylinder `14`is fiexibly coni,

nected to the support 11 by studs 17 and 18 on the. base 12 of said support, lsaid studs"projecting` into vertically' elongatedrslots in lugs 14a on the cylinder endrcovers 14b, .so as lto enablea degree of vertical float or relative adjust- Typical advantages of the roof support above described support shownin FIGURE 6 issimilar to that already de-V scribed and likereference numeralshave been used to The arrangementfshown in IGURE 6'ca`ngbe modiiied by mounting the cylinders 1'4 on the support member 1 0 1 andfthe opposed, rams on the support membersll, the

lengthspofsaid support members being adjusted accord? be a central support 11 ingly. In other Words, there may with two supports .10 one on either side of it..

are that it gives a true walking characteristic in thatit embodied init for providing its own walkingf characteristic or advancement.

- A supporti as vabove described is pt trticularly:V applicable i Y 3,185,178 n. yPatented Juneplv, 1365 ward perfectly parallel to one another.

Other advantages are reductionin face cost in that only one ramper two support members or units is required, all the legs are floor mounted, thus giving advantage in low seams and the conveyor movement does not aifect ram anchorage. I

Iclaim:

1. A self-advancing mine roof prop comprising Ya pair of horizontally elongated, longitudinally extending roof support members, a single hydraulicforwardly advancing means connecting said members in side-by-side relation for location adjacent a forwardly positioned conveyor, said advancing means including a longitudinally extending cylinder, a pair of opposed pistons in said cylinder having forwardly and rearwardly extending rods of substantially equal length which protrude froml opposite longitudinal ends of the cylinder, said cylinder being operatively connected with one of said roof supf port members for forward longitudinal Vmovement of said one member relative to the other member and the rearwardly extending rod being operatively connected with lthe other of said roof support members for independently moving said other member longitudinally forward relative to said one member, the forwardly extending rod being guidingly supported by said other roof support member and having its forward end movable forwardly beyond said other member a selected distance corresponding to the desired forward advance of a conveyor when engaged by said end, and said pistons each being slidable in said cylinder with a stroke at least equal to said selected distance.

2. A self-advancing mine roof prop according to claim 1 wherein said pair of pistons are spaced apart slightly in the cylinder when both support members are secured in roof supporting condition prior to advance ofone of said members, and ports are provided in said cylinder including communicating duct means for entry of pressure fluid in front of, behind and between said slightly 5. A self-advancing mine roof prop according to claim i 1 wherein said forwardly and rearwardly extendingrods are. connected to said other roof support member by means comprising vertically elongated slots and pin constructions to permit relative vertical movements of the cylinder and rods with respect to saidl other support mem-y Si ber.

V6. A self-advancing mine roof support according to claim 1 wherein said other roof support memberhas a asubstantially shorter rigid base.

4 7. A selffadvancing mine roof support comprising two longitudinal outer support members and a longitudinal intermediate support member between said outer support members, each of said support mem-bers having hydraulic 5V leg means for securing it between floor and roof, and

double actingram meansconnecting said members together in side-by-side relationship and for guiding and Y effecting alternate relative advancement of the outer support members and the intermediate support member when said outer support members and said intermediate support member are alternately released from between oor and roof, and for pushing over a conveyor towards the coal face, the intermediate suppo'tvmember having leg meansspaced longitudinally further apart than the leg means of the outer support members so that at least one leg means of each outer support memberwill be always positioned between sidewise 'projections of the legs `of the intermediate support member, said hydraulic ram means comprising two cylinders, means securing said cylinders respectively one to each outer support member, a pair of opposed pistons in each cylinder, said opposed pistons having rods which protr-ude forwardly and rearwardly respectively from opposite ends of their cylinder, one piston rod of each cylinder extending forwardly and vertically movably through an apertured memberron the `front end of said intermediate support member and having its forward end movable forwardly beyond said intermediate support member a selected distance for pushing a conveyor, the other piston rod of each cylinder extending rearwardly of its associated outer support member and having means vertically movably connecting the outer end thereof to the rear end of the 1ntermediate support member, the lengths of the piston rods of each pair being such `that when the three support members are secured in roof supporting position, the two pistons of each ypair are at a position of close approach in their cylinder with a small space ,between themrmeans for'introducing pressure fluid into space between the pistons of each pair and means at both ends of each cylinder for introducing pressure fluid thereinto in front of and behind the respective pistons of each pair.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 11/54 Perrin 61-45.2 6/57 Jenkins 6'1-452 A6/ 57 Fitzgerald 6 l-45 .2

11/58 Frye S1-45.2

FOREIGN PATENTS 5 5 8 France.

2/ 5 9 France.

1/ 5 7 Great Britain. 3/ 60 Great Britain. 9/ 60 Great Britain.

OTHER REFERENCES French patent addition, 66,647, I an. 28, 1957, (addition to Patent 1,043,173).

lEARL J. WITMER, Primary Examiner.

ROBERT C. RIORDN, JACOB L. NACKENOFF,

I Y l, Examiners. 

1. A SELF-ADVANCING MINE ROOF PROP COMPRISING A PAIR OF HORIZONTALLY ELONGATED, LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING ROOF SUPPORT MEMBERS, A SINGLE HYDRAULIC FORWARDLY ADVANCING MEANS CONNECTING SAID MEMBERS IN SIDE-BY-SIDE RELATION FOR LOCATION ADJACAENT A FORWARDLY POSITIONED CONVEYOR, SAID ADVANCING MEANS INCLUDING A LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING CYLINDER, A PAIR OF OPPOSED PISTONS IN SAID CYLINDER HAVING FORWARDLY AND REARWARDLY EXTENDING RODS OF SUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL LENGTH WHICH PROTRUDE FROM OPPOSITE LONGITUDINAL ENDS OF THE CYLINDER, SAID CYLINDER BEING OPERATIVELY CONNECTED WITH ONE OF SAID ROOF SUPPORT MEMBERS FOR FORWARD LONGITUDINAL MOVEMENT OF SAID ONE MEMBER RELATIVE TO THE OTHER MEMBER AND THE REARWARDLY EXTENDING ROD BEING OPERATIVELY CONNECTED WITH THE OTHER OF SAID ROOF SUPPORT MEMEBRS FOR INDEPENDENTLY MOVING SAID OTHER MEMBER LONGITUDINALLY FORWARD RELATIVE TO SAID ONE MEMBER, THE FORWARDLY EXTENDING ROD BEING GUIDINGLY SUPPORTED BY SAID OTHER ROOF SUPPORT MEMBER AND HAVING ITS FORWARD END MOVABLE FORWARDLY BEYOND SAID OTHER MEMBER A SELECTED DISTANCE CORRESPONDING TO THE DESIRED FORWARD ADVANCE OF A CONVEYOR WHEN ENGAGED BY SAID END, AND SAID PISTON EACH 